Change of Mind
by Icedrift36
Summary: AU. Megamind decides he doesn't want to keep fighting all the time. Can he retire and have the life he wanted when he was a child? How does this affect Roxanne? What about Metro Man? Rating may increase as story progresses.
1. Chapter 1

Leather gloved hands tinkered carefully with a small black machine in the lab part of the evil lair. The machine was a small clip that could be fastened to clothing. It was intended to project a cloak of invisibility over the wearer. This one would be Megaminds'. He'd already finished a similar invention for Minion a few days ago. Technically his was complete as well, but feeling stressed, he'd decided to tweak it.

Today was going to be a huge day for the supervillain- well- soon to be ex-supervillain. That's right; the great Megamind was throwing in the towel and calling it quits. He was tired of fighting, tired of being pounded into the ground and generally just exhausted.

So, he had come up with a genius plan to get out of it. Later today, when Metro Man busted into the evil lair to save Miss Ritchi, he would pull the ultimate vanishing act. He and Minion would clip on these black chips and would become invisible. Then he would leave the lair with all of his things, packed neatly as small glowing cubes. They already had a new lair set up. Only this lair wouldn't be home to Megamind and Minion. It would be home to Magnus Mitchell and Michael Mitchell, brothers by adoption.

After spending his whole life fighting and being cast behind bars, he was finally going to taste freedom. It's all he'd really desired as a child. That was why he had originally started breaking out. He had claimed to the public he merely was 'being evil', but in reality he'd been grasping at freedom he knew he could never legally gain.

That would all change today. He'd programmed himself and Minion each their own facade to wear, used by combining many humans traits. They could live the remainder of their lives in disguise, and he would finally be able to patent and sell his inventions without being questioned on his intent. It was what he had wanted to do ever since he was a child. Like that Eee-iinn-sting, or however you pronounced that impossible name.

"Minion," Megamind called, turning from the black clip to look for the fish and his robotic suit.

"Yes sir?"

"You have everything packed, right?" he asked, wringing his hands absently.

"Of course sir. Everything is dehydrated and packed away. The suitcase was also dehydrated to make it easier to carry," the enthusiastic Hench-fish replied, practically beaming with self-pride.

Megamind smiled warmly at his life-long friend. "Good. Thank you Minion."

"Of course sir."

"We have to make sure to be careful. We won't start slipping away until after Metro Man has left the lair. We don't want his pesky super-hearing to detect us. This has to go smoothly Minion," the blue man said, speaking more to himself than his companion as he turned and continued to work on the black machine.

"Don't fret sir; I'm sure this will go swimmingly. We'll get away and be able to start new, honest lives." As he spoke, the fish strapped on his disguise generator and walked over to his boss, laying the second one beside him. "So, when do you want me to leave to fetch Miss Ritchi?"

"Hm..." the alien hummed to himself, thinking over the best time to do it. "Is everything set?"

"Yes sir."

"Are you sure? The disintegration ray?"

"At full, destructive power, sir. And set at the angle you instructed for definite 'malfunction'," as he said this the robotic hands lifted to create air quotes. His jagged teeth were barred in a smile.

Megamind nodded his head, thinking over everything that had needed to be done. "The projection screens?"

"All set for the performance sir. Ready to tap into Metro City's wiring at any time we need," answered the fish, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at his master. "I also set up the hologram to make it look like everything is still in place. Everything is packed and ready to go, aside from the hair net and goggles you're wearing of course."

"Oh, yeah," the bigheaded alien replied. With that, he stepped away from the bench he'd been working at and tugged the hair net and goggles both off. He tossed them lazily into the air, watching as Minion fired the de-gun, reducing both to small blue cubes. Then he picked them up and tucked them into a hidden compartment of the robotic suit.

With that done the fish handed over the de-gun to Megamind and the alien tucked it into its holster.

"Well, no time like the pree-sent I suppose. You may go fetch Miss Ritchi now," the supervillain told his friend, waving his hand dismissively.

"Alright, sir," Minion replied, turning on his heel and setting out to go kidnap the nosy reporter.

When he left Megamind strapped on his own disguise generator. Looking into the reflective surface of the table, he gave the watch a twist, examining his disguise. He was a man with black hair, his usual goatee and green eyes. The eyes couldn't be altered; otherwise, he'd be blind as a bat. His facade wore a black leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up halfway, a black AC/DC shirt on underneath that. He was also wearing dark jeans and black biker style boots. Not too drastic of a change.

Turning the watch to reveal his true form once more, Megamind heaved a sigh. He really wished he didn't have to do this. He wished he could just have lived his life as any normal human lived theirs, without the need for a disguise or elaborate plans. Unfortunately that was not the way things were to be.

There was always a price for everything in life. The price for evading the death of his civilization and planet had been to land here. A place where the natural inhabitants were vastly different in appearance than himself; a place where he was shunned. The price for freedom and a normal life, was giving up his identity.

_Oh well_, he decided, _no point in dwelling on things that can't be changed._

Those thoughts in his head he pocketed the clip that would be used to generate the cloak of invisibility. All there was to do now was to wait for Minion to return with his kidnap victim.

* * *

**Eee-iinn-sting is meant to be Einstein in case you're wondering, and pree-sent is just present.**

**And the 'invisibility cloak' may have been an idea taken from Harry Potter.**

**That is all.**


	2. Chapter 2

So far, the day had been relatively boring for Roxanne. She covered a short segment about a fire that had been contained not long after rising, and now she had nothing to do. Since there was, nothing to do the reporter was left sitting in a small cafe with her creepy cameraman, Hal. It wouldn't be so bad if Hal would just be quiet and let her work in peace. She had her laptop out and was typing away, but somehow he seemed to be missing her message.

"I was all like: 'you can't do that man.' Then he was all: 'can so!' Then I like, beat him up and stuff and I got like, this awesome medal. You should come by and see it sometime," Hal was saying.

"I don't know, Hal. I don't have a lot of time to do things outside of work," she mumbled absently, "especially with the Megamind and Metro Man stuff." As she said this, she opened up her e-mail and skimmed through one from the editor. After scanning the recommendations, she opened up the piece and began editing it absently.

"If _I_ had Metro Mans mighty powers of awesomeness, _Megamind_ wouldn't be an issue. I'd have melted his stupid blue face by now. He'd been _so_ dead." He slammed his fork against the yolk of his egg, causing yellow to splatter free. A drop or two smacked into the back of Roxanne's laptop and she sighed, reaching for a napkin to wipe the mess up with. "Sorry about that," the cameraman said, looking anything but apologetic.

"Its fine," the reporter replied, trying to keep her temper in check. "Back to the previous topic, I don't see it as _that_ big of a problem. Megamind is good for publicity. Besides that, heroes don't kill people."

"That's the problem with them," Hal pointed out, "if they would just kill the bad guys, there wouldn't be an issue. It makes more sense than tossing them in jail when you know they can just break free again." He was speaking while chewing the mutilated egg, spitting bits all over the table and fueling Roxanne's temper.

"I forgot my charger," Roxanne suddenly announced, "I'll go get it."

"Want me to go with you?"

"No. Just stay here and keep an eye on my laptop so no one steals it," she replied, rising to her feet, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Alright. I'll defend your laptop as if it was our baby."

The reporter fought the urge to grimace as she left the cafe behind. She hadn't really needed her charger, but any excuse that got her away from the creep was a good one.

Once outside the cafe she walked over to get out of sight from the windows. Then she leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh. How much longer was she going to have to work with that guy? Sure, he was incredible at working the camera, but it wasn't really worth the hassle. She was already fairly certain he was stalking her. As soon as she got a new cameraman, she was going to consider getting a restraining order against Hal.

Just then, a robotic gorilla arm appeared out of nowhere and sprayed something in her face. She tried to swat the spray away, but to no avail. Then the world went black.

* * *

When she came to again she could feel a large shoulder pressed against her stomach, and there was a bag over her head. The bag smelt of sour milk. Seriously, Megamind needed to invest in a washing machine, or steal one. Probably the later considering she was talking about a supervillain. She squirmed a little, adjusting herself more comfortably. Well, as comfortable as she could be with her hands bound and a bag over her head.

"She's awake, sir," Minion commented, surprising the reporter. Normally Megamind was the first of the pair to notice that. The alien must not be feeling entirely himself today.

"Alright," came the reply, "just put her in the chair and tie her there."

Sure enough, Roxanne then felt herself being placed in the usual chair and ropes being tied around her waist to secure her into the seat. Then the bag was plucked from her head, and her expression became a look of mock annoyance. "Can you at least wash the bag?" she asked, her tone filled with the usual sarcasm.

"The bag is the least of your problems. Today is the day I defeat Metro Man," Megamind said with a wicked laugh.

Something wasn't quite right with the supervillain- or- more unusual that the average kidnapping. He lacked a certain spark in his unnaturally green eyes and he seemed much less enthusiastic than normal. For a minute, the reporter was tempted to ask what the problem was. Then she caught herself and reminded herself that this was _Megamind_. She didn't care how he was feeling.

"Rendered speechless from my dashing charm?" he asked coyly, sliding his chair toward her with a smile, as he leaned in. "Can't say I blame you. I _am_ the best looking alien this planet has ever known."

"Uh, huh, whatever helps you sleep at night."

Another laugh bubbled forth from his lips. "I must say, I'll miss your ever entertaining commentary," he told her. Then he turned and propelled himself towards the control panel in his large chair. "Now, on to the threatening your life with the drills of death and the calling Metro Man."

That was unusual. Normally he liked to banter more than that before proceeding with whatever plan he had been cooking up. She found herself almost disappointed with the lack of playful jests. Even as he pressed, the button that caused the flashy drills to drop from the ceiling she found herself still wondering what in the world was wrong with him today. Nothing about this kidnapping seemed normal.

As soon as the drills were in place, the man turned and pressed another button. How he remembered what all these buttons were for was beyond her. They seemed to be entirely random to her.

Once the two-way screens turned on, Megamind began with an evil laugh. "Greetings again Metrocity," he called out, projecting his voice so that it echoed around the evil lair and so that every citizen would be able to hear it.

"Megamind," came the annoyed hiss of Metro Man as he flew up and hovered before one of the large screens.

"Ah, just the small headed drone I wanted to see," Megamind, said, sounding quite pleased he'd gotten his nemesis' attention so quickly. "I believe I have something of yours." As he said this, he stepped aside to reveal Roxanne strapped to the chair with the drills surrounding her.

"Roxy! Don't panic," the hero called to her.

"Not panicking," she called back, but the hero had already returned his attention to Megamind, ignoring the pawn.

"You won't get away with this Megamind," he said, "justice will prevail!"

"Oh it will, will it?" the villain asked, stepping back to take up the camera and block the view of Roxanne. He was wearing an evil smirk, looking smug and self-important.

"Of course. Good will always trump evil!"

"We'll see about that. You have thirty min-utes to find us, or else Miss Ritchi is going to become a block of Swiss cheese. Tick tock, Metro Man." With that said the camera's cut off, turning to static and noise.

"Metro Man approaching, sir," Minion said, pressing one robotic finger against a screen displaying the white clad hero. "We have approximately five minutes."

"Plenty of time," Megamind said, waving a leather gloved hand absently. "Get ready to turn the camera's back on. We wouldn't want to cheat the public out of a battle as glorious as this." As he said this, he made his way over to the other side of the lair, pulling a tarp off his newest weapon of mayhem.

"What's that supposed to be? A pie launcher?" Roxanne asked, feeling oddly left out.

"Not at all, Miss Ritchi," Minion replied with a bright smile, "that's sir's disintegration ray."

"You actually think you'll be able to disintegrate a man with laser vision?" she questioned sarcastically, looking from the fish to his master with a skeptical expression. "This is just screaming failure."

"Nonsense. You're small, human brain simply can't process the genius of it," Megamind scoffed disapprovingly. Minion switched the camera's back on once the boss had finished speaking, giving him the 'ShowTime' signal.

The reporter was about to offer a sharp retort when just then Metro Man burst in through a wall, sending rubble flying. "Alright Megamind," the hero said, "time to taste defeat."

"You're the one who'll be tasting failure today, Metro Man." With that said, the supervillain tugged on a lever hanging from the rafters of the ceiling.

For a moment, nothing happened and Metro Man watched with a look of undisguised boredom. Then the shot came. It was blindingly bright, the ray that came from the gun a pure white light that Roxanne had to shut her eyes against. It came with a rumbling sound, followed by an explosion as it made contact. Then a thick cloud of dust and debris filled the air, making the reporter cough.

When the dust cleared, Roxanne looked anxiously over to where Metro Man had been standing to find the super hero still in the same place, entirely untouched by the disintegration ray. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to offer a smirk towards Megamind, only to find that he wasn't there.

"That the best you got little blue freak?" Metro Man bellowed, sounding triumphant. Then he noticed the absence of the villain. "Huh, where'd you go?"

That was exactly what Roxanne was wondering. Where could he have vanished too so quickly? She looked over towards where Minion had been, only to find that the fish in the robot suit was also gone.

"Ha, the blue freak is so terrified he fled before I could even throw a punch. What a worm," Metro Man laughed, flashing his most charming smile at the cameras. Then he seemed to remember Roxanne and flew over, destroying the drills with his heat vision before pulling Roxanne out of danger and flying her off into the sunset like the good hero he was.

As they flew away though, Roxanne couldn't help but to wonder what had happened to the familiar blue alien and Minion. Were they alright? What was she thinking? Of course, they were alright. Villains may always lose, but they never actually _died_. So, why wouldn't this tugging feeling of worry leave her alone?


	3. Chapter 3

Megamind held his breath as he watched Metro Man flying off with Roxanne held in his arms. It had taken all his will power not to pick a fight with the imbecile for the mocking commentary about his alleged running away. He'd had to remind himself several times that if he appeared again now, his plan of getting away and living a normal life would never succeed. Only when the hero had vanished and Minion pressed the 'screen malfunction' button did he allow himself to breathe again. "Minion," he called quietly, "are we ready to go?"

"Yes sir, its all clear," the fish replied.

"Perfect," the alien purred, quite pleased with how this plan was going so far. "Brain bots, make sure you destroy any remaining evidence of our escape before you join us at our new location."

That statement was met with a chorus of bowg-bowgs that any average person would be unable to interpret. To Megamind though, the sounds were a complete and comprehensible answer. They were assuring their daddy that they would take care of things and that everything would be alright. They were always so eager to please.

With all that, done Megamind and Minion made their way to the invisible car. As usual, Minion climbed into the driver's seat while Megamind slipped into the passenger side. Once they were inside the vehicle, they deactivated their individual invisibility devices.

The new hideout was on the other side of town, in a large warehouse disguised by yet another hologram device to look like an apartment complex from the outside. Only Megamind and Minion knew its true identity. The warehouse had been cast aside years ago and no longer produced anything besides dust. For now.

Soon though, the warehouse would be filled to the brim with new inventions and prototypes. All it really needed was a little TLC, which Minion and the brain bots were certain to offer.

Meanwhile, Megamind would be going out and trying to sell an invention he already had prepared for pitching. It was a simple enough thing, just a basic computer program to make it easier for people to do taxes. It did all of the math for them and had nearly one hundred percent efficiency, all they had to do was insert all the receipts for the month into a slot. The receipts were also shredded on the way out to save time later on. Then the numbers of each month were automatically added to a year-end final, calculated along the way. Taxes weren't something he'd ever had personal experience with, but it was something Roxanne complained about often enough. Originally, it had been a gift to her so she couldn't use taxes as a 'get out of kidnapping free' excuse. He'd figured it might help others as well, so he had held onto it.

"It's going to be strange."

Minion's words caused Megamind to glance his way with a look of confusion. "What's going to be shtrange?" he asked.

"Not working on the side of evil anymore, sir. I never thought I'd see the day," the fish replied, glancing towards his master with a toothy smile. "It feels nice though, doesn't it? Trying to start again as honest men."

"Yes, Minion," Megamind answered with a smile of his own, "it does feel nice."

After that brief exchange the remainder of the drive passed by in silence. Both knew that there was no turning back now. They had made up their minds and this was how things were going to be. Nothing was going to change that. No matter what happened from now on, they weren't ever returning to the life of evil.

When the arrived at the new hideout, Megamind was surprised at the condition, the warehouse was in. It appeared as if the warehouse had already had some work done. It was fairly clean, free of speeider webs and with only a thin coating of dust. The blue alien turned to ask Minion what had happened, and was met with a nervous smile. "Minion...?"

"I didn't want our first night in our new home to involve getting caked in dirt," Minion offered by way of explanation, "you aren't mad, are you sir?"

"Of course not you sentimental simian you, it's brilliant," Megamind said, bumping his head against a synthetic furred shoulder in a show of affection. At least, that's what it had meant on his planet. It was a gesture used to show friendship and trust among his people. He remembered seeing it all the time in the eight days he had spent there. It was also a gesture only ever used when they were alone, because it was so often misinterpreted by humans.

Minion seemed delighted that his master was happy. His fins wiggled and he seemed to puff out a little with pride. "I'm so glad you like it, sir."

* * *

The next week or so was spent arranging their new home to their liking. Minion was allowed to get many things he had been denied access too when their home was called 'evil lair', such as a proper kitchen space and many different recipe books and cooking utensils. Megamind kept most of his stuff the same as always. Strings hanging from the ceiling with papers suspended at the end to plot out new ideas, half-finished prototypes filling his workspace. He still refused a bed, because he only slept for little under an hour a night anyway and the couch was comfortable enough.

Everything seemed to be sliding perfectly into place. He'd set an appointment up to pitch the tax invention in another few days. Until then he continued to work on new things. Some were random and served no real purpose, but it was a good way to pass time.

Minion had gotten a job as well. He spent mornings working as a waiter at a small cafe, and he seemed highly enthusiastic about it. Megamind meant to pay him a visit one day so he could see his friend in the environment he loved. He would probably do that tomorrow or- to be more precise- later today. For now, it was nearing three in the morning, which meant it was about time to get some rest. He could continue working on his newest invention later.

* * *

**I don't know if the tax invention would actually work, I'm no genius, but I had to come up with something useful he'd have had a sensible reason to create.**

**The head bumping thing was something I've seen before, and I really loved the idea.**

**Anyway, enjoy.**


	4. Chapter 4

It had been nearly two weeks. Two weeks since the whole thing with the disintegrator ray fiasco during which the city's resident supervillain had vanished with his minion. It felt surreal to the nosy reporter. Where in the world could those two have disappeared too? Normally they had a new scheme prepared at least once a week, if not twice. For there to be no sign of them for this long was weird.

She had tried to explain this to Metro Man, but he had merely laughed and told her not to worry. "They can stay away as long as they like," the white clad hero had told her, "good riddance. This city doesn't need them."

His words were hardly reassuring, but she couldn't argue. He did have a point. The city really could do without the constant damage that the routine fights caused. Still, it was unsettling how little people seemed to care about the man's life. And what of the fish? The minimal concern for Megamind was somewhat understandable, but why the hostility towards Minion? He wasn't a mean or nasty guy. In fact, the strange-scaled creature was probably more friendly and loving than most humans Roxanne knew.

She was currently trying to explain that to Hal, but that was getting nowhere fast.

"I dunno where they went Roxy," the redhead told her, using Metro Man's nickname for the reporter. His tone was a mixture of boredom and annoyance. "But seriously, who cares? Look, let's just forget it and go get breakfast. Together you know? Not like a date or anything." As he said this, he raised his hands innocently. Then he glanced away with feigned nervousness, laughing a little. "Well, it'll just be you and me alone. So it could be kind of like a date. Our first official date."

Roxanne fought the urge to turn and flee from him, but she couldn't keep the grimace from her face. "Uh, I don't think us going out on a date would be a good idea," she put in, trying her best to not sound disgusted. Then seeing his expression turn sad she sighed and added, "but grabbing a bite before work as _friends_ sounds good."

Hal perked up as if she had just retracted the previous denial and had accepted the date idea. It was disturbing.

Trying not to let the creepiness of the situation get her down, Roxanne slipped into the usual cafe, making her way to the usual table. When she got there, she found it was occupied by a man wearing a leather jacket and a black AC/DC shirt. "Oh," she gasped in surprise at seeing someone there. Normally the place was left vacant specifically for her. She turned and scanned the cafe for a different spot, but all others seemed to be taken. "Um, excuse me?" she said, tapping the man on the shoulder.

The man jumped three feet in the air, startled by the sudden contact. "Hey," he barked out, sounding greatly annoyed, "what the he-," He cut himself off when he saw her. "Oh, Miss Ritchi. Can I help you with something?" As he asked this, he absently shuffled the pile of napkins around to cover up his sketches.

His eyes were so breathtakingly vibrant green the woman found her voice abandon her for a moment. Then her head slowly cleared and she went on to ask what she had intended too initially. "I was going to ask if it's alright if Hal and I sit with you," she explained, pointing to the cameraman who was staring at the other man as if he had tentacles for arms. Then a new thought occurred to her. "Wait, how do you know who I am?"

"Oh," he waved a hand dismissively, "everyone in Metrocity knows who you are Miss Ritchi. You get the most coverage of anyone on telly-vision. Go ahead and sit down."

She had to bite back a small laugh at the way he mispronounced both Metro City and television. It was charming in a strange sort of way. Instead, she flashed a bright smile and thanked him for letting her and Hal share his table. "Please call me Roxanne though," she added afterwards, "there's no need to be so formal."

"But don't call her Roxy. She only likes it when _I_ call her that," Hal interjected before the stranger could form a response.

"You and Metro Man," the stranger flashed back, looking at Hal with a crooked smile. Then at Roxanne's confused look, he added, "I've seen enough interviews."

Hal looked like he wanted to punch this man in the face, so Roxanne jumped into making small talk again. The last thing she wanted was to end up getting thrown out of her favourite cafe on account of her cameraman being a jerk. "So, what's your name?" she asked.

"Magnus," he answered.

"That's a stupid name," Hal said, snickering at him like a school bully would laugh at their victim.

Magnus looked as if he was about to order them to leave his table, but just then their waiter came to the table, diffusing the tension with a smile. Despite the Mohawk, he seemed like a nice guy. "Magnus," he greeted with a friendly air, "I didn't realize you were coming here this morning. I thought you were busy working on perfecting your pitch. And you brought friends too." As he said this he looked from Roxanne to Hal and then back to Magnus.

"I wanted to see how work was treating you Michael. Besides, I got bored," answered Magnus, rolling his narrow shoulders in a shrug. "And these guys aren't really friends, they just came in and asked if they could sit with me because the place is full."

The waiter- Michael- glanced around the cafe to realize that his friend was right. "I see," he said, sounding thoughtful. Then he dismissed the thoughts and looked back to the people at the table. "What do you all want?" he asked, taking out a notebook and a pen to write down their orders with.

"Ladies first," Magnus said, looking towards Roxanne with a grin.

He didn't seem to realize she hadn't had the chance to scan the menu over. Fortunately, though, she was a regular here and knew exactly what she wanted. "Just a vanilla decaf late and a egg'n'sausage sandwich for me, thanks."

"Alrighty miss," the waiter replied, scribbling the order down on his notepad. "And for you, sir?"

He was looking towards Magnus when he spoke, but Hal was the one to reply. "I'll have eggs and bacon with an extra large triple, triple." With that said, he leaned back in his seat lazily.

"Right," Michael said, recording that as well. Then he looked towards Magnus again. "And what would you like, sir?" he asked again. Seeing that Magnus still seemed uncertain, he put in an offer. "How about a coffee and three jelly doughnuts?"

Magnus perked up with a smile. "That sounds brilliant."

"Good. I'll be back with your order shortly," the waiter said, walking away.

Roxanne arched a single eyebrow, wondering why it was the waiter didn't write down Magnus's order. Before she had, a chance to ask though, Hal had begun questioning him.

"So, is that dude like, your boyfriend? I mean, it's totally cool if he is, 'cause like, yay gay rights and all. I'm just curious."

"Hal," Roxanne hissed, kicking the cameraman under the table to try and get him to shut up. He didn't seem to get the hint.

Meanwhile, Magnus's face had become a look of humility and was slowly shifting into anger. "No. That 'dude' is most certainly _not_ my boyfriend. I don't have a boyfriend and I don't want one either. I'm straight," he protested. Then he sat back and took a deep breath to calm his rising temper, clearing his throat before he spoke again. "Besides, even if I _were _homosexual, I would never date Michael. He's my brother for ev- uh- heavens sake."

Roxanne looked at Magnus with interest. What had he been going to say in regards to heaven? That sounded like a strange mix-up to be made. At the moment, though she had more important things to deal with. Like the fact the two men at the table looked to be seconds away from getting into their own Metro Man and Megamind style showdown.

"Guys, guys, just calm down," she said, raising her hands in a plea for peace, "let's not fight."

Magnus snorted with annoyance and threw his hands up in a dramatic manner. "Well it wasn't as if I started it," he huffed, "this is really all _his_ fault. He's the one jumping at my throat like a starved puma going after a deer. I didn't do anything." As he said this his lower lip jutted out ever so slightly in a pout.

Did this guy honestly just use the 'he started it' excuse? What was he? Five? Roxanne sighed and rolled her blue eyes. She had to admit the guy did have a point. "I don't care who started it, let's just not, okay?"

"Fine," the men both relented.

"But I could totally kick his butt," Hal added under his breath.

Before Magnus could respond to the childish muttering, Roxanne cut in again. "So, Michael said you were working on getting a pitch ready," she blurted, "what are you pitching an idea for?" She looked towards him with a hopeful smile. Maybe he would understand the attempt to rid the tension from the air.

Magnus turned those startlingly green eyes towards her and offered a half-smile. "Oh, nothing too fancy. Just a machine to help with taxes."

"Oh, what does it do?"

"Nothing too big. You just insert all the receipts from the month and enter them in, alongside some other numbers and it does all the required calculations. It also shreds the papers when it's done the reading," he answered, sounding bored, making it seem like the simplest thing in the world.

"That sounds good, but what about year-end?" the reporter asked.

"It saves the data on a separate file and works towards it throughout."

"That sounds like a great idea," she said, thinking about all the time she could save if she had such a machine, "I'll be the first one to buy one of those if it works out."

"Pft, yeah, as if it'd work out. C'mon Roxy, this guy's nothing but a wannabe dweeb," Hal said, rolling his eyes at the whole concept, "everything about him screams loser. He probably lives in his parent's basement tinkering with doohickeys and thingy-ma-bobs. "

"Actually, my parents are dead, thank you very much," Magnus retorted.

"Whatever, you're still a creep."

Sensing that the two men were going to get into another argument if she allowed the conversation to continue as it was, Roxanne interrupted the two again. "I'm sure it works just fine," she said.

Just then her cell phone went off and she pulled the thing out. It was a call from work. Apparently one of her co-workers had called in sick and she had to cover an interview. She'd have to leave right now though, or she'd never make it in time. "Looks like we're gonna have to skip breakfast," she mumbled, looking towards Hal, "go start the van. I'll be there in a minute."

Hal eyed her and Magnus suspiciously, but he didn't offer any argument. Instead he turned and made his way out of the cafe.

"I'm sorry about him," Roxanne mumbled, tucking the cell away, "he's not the easiest of people to get along with." She reached into a small purse and plucked out a black wallet, prepared to leave the money she owed for her and Hal's food.

Magnus lifted a hand in a gesture to stop. "Don't worry about it," he said, "I'll cover it for you."

"Oh, you don't have too, I-,"

"Nonsense. I don't mind," he assured her.

"Well, if you're sure..." she bit her lip with uncertainty. She really could use the extra cash, but she didn't want to make a stranger pay for her meal. It was rude.

"Positive as a proton," he said, making her laugh softly.

"Alright Mag's," she chuckled, "but next time, it's on me. Can I see you here for breakfast tomorrow morning? To make the interrogation up to you?"

He looked like he was going to say no for a minute, but when she pulled the puppy face he sighed and agreed to meet her tomorrow. "Great," she said cheerily, "I'll see you then." With that she turned and left, feeling more optimistic than she had since the last kidnapping fiasco. Maybe the lack of kidnappings was a sign that it was time for her to move on and start living a normal life.

* * *

**Someone was bound to spring the question of sexuality sometime, it might as well be Hal.**

**Anyone else want to punch Hal in the face yet?**


	5. Chapter 5

"Sir, what were you thinking, agreeing to meet up with Miss Ritchi again?" Minion demanded for what felt like the six thousandth time since getting home. He'd overheard the conversation and ever since Megamind hadn't been able to get him to stop fussing. "We're trying to get _away_ from our old life."

"We still _are_ getting away from it," Megamind countered, "it's not like I'm doing anything wrong by agreeing to sit down to a meal and talk."

"I don't know sir, this feels wrong."

Megamind rolled his eyes at the fretting fish, tossing a screwdriver at him. It bounced off a robotic shoulder, having no affect on the creature controlling the suit. "Don't be such a pill Minion," he scoffed, "everything will be perfectly fine."

The fish wanted to argue his case further, but the throwing of the screwdriver had excited several brain-bots who were now nudging the gorilla suit like puppies. Besides that, he knew it would be impossible to change his friends mind. Megamind was a rather stubborn creature at the best of times. So with great reluctance the fish sighed and gave in, tossing a wrench for the brain-bots.

Megamind was pleased to have the subject dropped. He would never admit such a thing to Minion, but truth be told, he'd been upset at the idea of casting Miss Ritchi out of his life entirely. It was stupid to maintain contact with her at all- not to mention childish- but he couldn't help how he felt.

Besides, it wasn't as if they were doing anything wrong. It was just a quick cup of coffee and a bite to eat between acquaintances, and she _did_ owe him for making him suffer that imbecilic cameraman's company.

Stretching his long arms, the blue alien turned his attention to a new machine. This one was a trash receptacle that disintegrated the garbage as it was tossed in. It was the second prototype, seeing as how the first had exploded when tested. This one seemed to work better, but there was still the case of smoke. It would set off all the fire detectors in a normal house, and cause far too much panic among the firemen of the city.

"Maybe if recalibrate the wiring here... and change the ignition gases..." he mumbled, tongue sticking comically out the side of his mouth as he worked at it.

Minion poked his head in later that day, intending to ask what his master wanted for dinner, but seeing him focused in his work he decided to leave some leftovers in the fridge. Megamind hated to be disrupted when he was in the middle of an invention. Even if said invention had just exploded yet again due to an accidental crossing of wires that weren't supposed to touch and Megamind was spitting curses from their home planet at it.

It was nearing five in the morning when Megamind finally began to feel tired. He didn't want to leave his invention though- he was coming close to finding a way to turn the smoke into fresh oxygen- but he knew he had too. So with a wide yawn, he retired to the couch for the night.

* * *

"Sir?"

"Not now Minion," Megamind grumbled, covering his head with his cape, "I'm busy resharshing my brain."

"Resharshing?" echoed a confused Minion.

"Sleeping."

"Oh." That seemed to clear up the confusion. "Alright. I just figured I'd tell you it's about six now, and I have to leave for work soon. You should probably get up and start getting ready soon."

"Mm, okay. I'm up, I'm up." With that the blue genius tugged the cape off of his head and sat up, rubbing his eyes. It had been a nice sleep, filled with dreams of flying through the air, the one power Metro Man had that Megamind truly envied. Of course he could still fly, but he imagined the sense of freedom would be heightened without requiring machinery strapped to your back.

Dismissing these thoughts the sleepy hero opened his eyes just in time to see Minion ducking out of their home. He yawned, scratching his chin as he sat up and began moving through the motions of getting ready.

Although Megamind didn't sleep for long periods of time, he was a heavy sleeper. Once he was out nothing could wake him up until he was ready. Even when he was ready to be wakened though, it took him a long while to work his way up to the cheerful, energetic mood he was normally in. He may be an alien, but even he wasn't that hyper all the time.

* * *

Once he had gotten cleaned and dressed for the new day, he switched on the holowatch and began the commute to the cafe. He was surprised to see Roxanne already at the table he'd gone too yesterday when he came in around seven thirty.

When she caught sight of him she offered a bright smile, waving him over. "Hey Magnus," she greeted as he approached the table and took a seat across from her.

"Ollo Miss Ri- er- Roxanne," he replied, correcting the error with some effort.

Roxanne didn't seem to mind the mix-up, she was laughing softly at him. Normally such a thing would frustrate him, but this laugh didn't appear to be mocking in nature, so he allowed it to slip this time. "You know, you sound a lot like another genius I know," she commented.

This caused him to tense slightly, unsure if she was hinting at her knowledge of his true identity or just making an observation. He offered the woman a nervous sort of smile. "Oh, really?" he asked, trying his best not to strain his voice due to nerves. Damn Minion and his more rightness.

"Mhm," she answered, glancing out the window with a look of concern. "He hasn't been around for a while though."

Megamind arched his eyebrows with surprise as he watched her expression change. His eyes followed hers', the surprise deepening when he saw her staring in the direction of an old evil lair he'd used. "You mean Megamind?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, looking back to him with a nervous grin. "I know I should be the last person worrying about him- aside from maybe Metro Man- but I can't help it. It isn't like him to vanish for so long."

"You're worried about him?"

This comment caused the reported to flush a bright shade of pink. Her blue eyes turned towards the table. "Yeah." She paused here to heave a sigh, looking up towards him with an earnest gaze. "I know he's the bad guy and all, but I can't believe _nobody_ cares. He's still a person. And what about Minion? He never did anything wrong. All he did was help his friend out. Granted, his friend was evil, but still, you gotta admire that kind of loyalty. And- I'm rambling, aren't I?"

She was, but Megamind didn't care. He was too busy trying to keep his mouth from falling open in shock. Roxanne was actually defending _him_. The real him too, not the disguise he was currently wearing. It was odd and yet somewhat pleasing.

"Magnus?" she pressed.

"Oh -uh- yes, you were rambling. I'm sorry, I was just surprised to hear you defending our resident supervillain. Especially considering the relationship you two share," he explained. It felt weird speaking about himself in third person.

"I know," she sighed, "I just wish I knew what had happened to him. I'm worried the disintegrator ray might have backfired on him and Minion."

"It didn't," he said, suddenly desperate to reassure the nosy reporter.

The response he got was not one he had intended to get. She arched a single eyebrow skeptically. "How do you know?" she questioned.

"I..." he trailed off, trying to think of a reason for Magnus to know that. _Come on genius, think,_ his mind hissed. "...I broke into the evil lair after the battle. I figured that if he had left his stuff I might be able to grab some of it and figure out how it all works. You know, sciencey reasons."

"You were planning to steal from a guy that _built_ a disintegrator ray?" she sounded skeptical.

"I don't honestly think he'd use it on a regular person. Only Metro Man," he replied, thinking fast, "I mean, how many times did he kidnap you? You always walk away unscathed. He even sets the angles of his machines specifically so you don't get caught in the crossfire, you can tell on the videos of the fights."

The woman across from him was silent for a long while, then she nodded her head in agreement. "Maybe that's why I'm worried about him. He's not really all _that_ evil."

Megamind was about to protest that statement when Minion- disguised as Michael- came over to the table.

"Sorry for the delay," Minion said, "there was a spill in the kitchen that needed to be cleaned up and everyone else was busy. Don't worry though, my hands have been effectively scrubbed down." As he said this he laughed cheerily.

"That's alright," Roxanne assured him, adding in, "I'll have that vanilla decaf late and egg'n'sausage sandwich."

"Alright Miss," Minion replied, scribbling the order down and then looking towards Megamind, "and same as yesterday for you as well I presume sir?"

"Yes, thank you Michael."

"I'll be back in a few minutes with your orders," Minion said, turning and making his way back to the kitchen.

Once he was out of sight, silence settled over the two. Megamind had no idea what to say to Roxanne now, and picking up the last conversation seemed like a bad idea. So he plucked out a napkin and grabbed a crayon from the cup for younger kids sitting in the center of the table. Then he began absently sketching improved designs for the garbage disposal machine.

He continued sketching for a long while, stopping only when he noticed Roxanne leaning over as far as she could to watch him draw. His hands covered the sketches and he looked up at her. "Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to see what you were working on," she told him, "you just dropped out of the world for a while. It was kind of cool."

"Oh."

"So, what is it?" she asked, moving her chair to his side and flicking his hand away from the sketch so she could look at it.

He explained the concept to her enthusiastically, eager to be able to share his ideas with someone other than Minion for once. By the time their food had come out, he was feeling quite comfortable talking to her. The tension he had felt at first was completely gone. He wished he could do this as himself, but this was the next best thing.

* * *

**School is returning tomorrow, so my updates won't be as frequent. Sorry guys.**

**For now though, enjoy.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Roxanne listened to Magnus enthusiastic rambling on about his ideas with a smile tugging her lips up at the corners. She admired how passionate he was. In all honesty he was like a child, which was odd, given the 'tough-guy' look he wore. Regardless, she enjoyed his energetic company.

"Then once the trash is gone, the ventilation see-stem rearranges the molecules into further to be redistributed into the air," he concluded with dramatic flare. "So, what do you think? It's brilliant, isn't it?"

She cocked a single brow up at him in a skeptical expression. She didn't approve of the somewhat cocky attitude, even if this guy _was_ genius material.

Rather than fanning the flame of his ego, she returned to her previous spot and rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "Not bad. Not the greatest, but not bad."

He paused in his enthusiastic rambling, lips pursing as if he had to ponder over that. He looked a little upset, but it only lasted for a brief moment. The he broke into a smile. It was a little uncertain, nothing near the confident and childish smile he'd worn not long before. For a minute Roxanne almost felt bad for giving that reply.

"Well, hopefully it'll be enough to give me a solid start in the buzz-ee-ness world," he put in. As he spoke their waiter- and his brother if she remembered correctly- returned to the table with their orders.

"Alright, a vanilla decaf late and an egg'n'sausage sandwich for you, miss," Michael said, passing a plate towards her as he spoke, followed by a mug of steaming hot liquid. She thanked him with a grateful smile as he passed off a plate with three jelly doughnuts on it to Magnus. After that he passed a coffee over to Magnus. "And jelly doughnuts for you, sir," he added. "Anything else I can get you two?"

"I'm good," both of them said in unison.

"Alrighty then. I'll check in with you guys again in a little while," Michael told them, turning and making his way from the table once he'd said it.

Magnus wasted no time digging into the jelly doughnuts, seeming quite delighted with them. Roxanne felt a twist of jealousy. She loved sugary treats as well, but her metabolism didn't. A single doughnut would go directly to her hips in the matter of a few days if she didn't do something about it. Her companion however, didn't seem capable of self-restraint in terms of food, yet he looked like a twig. That bastard.

Realizing she had been staring she quickly averted her eyes and began chewing on the breakfast sandwich she had ordered for herself. Compared to sugary-coated pastry, it wasn't really all that appealing. Maybe she'd break her diet later and get herself some sort of a treat. The TV station couldn't fire her for gaining a pound.

Magnus didn't take long to devour his food and gulp down his coffee. She had barely even gotten halfway through her breakfast sandwich by the time he was finished.

"Looks like somebody was hungry," she commented after swallowing a mouthful of sandwich. She was trying not to laugh, but she was having a hard time. This guy was adorable. He behaved like an excited puppy.

"Yeah, I have somewhat of a weakness for jelly doughnuts," he replied, his cheeks turning a pink shade. He shrugged his shoulders in a helpless manner. "What can you do?"

"You certainly don't _look_ like someone that eats junk food a lot," Roxanne replied.

"Oh?"

"Nah, normally people with big sweet-tooths aren't twigs," she told him, flashing a playful smile in his direction.

He looked like he was going to offer a reply, but right then Michael came over, collecting the empty dishes. "Magnus," he said, clearing his throat, "don't you think you should get ready for that presentation later? It's almost eight-thirty."

"Oh crap! Is it really that late?" Magnus asked, jumping to his feet with a flare of panic in his eyes. "My goodness, where did the time go? I'm sorry Roxanne, I must leave you now."

"It's okay," she replied, "I should be heading to work soon anyway. I'll see you around?"

She really didn't want to sound desperate, asking to see him again, but she also really liked this guys company. He was so sweet. Luckily he didn't seem to notice the slight hint of desperation. Instead he merely smiled and said: "sure".

When he left she glanced down to her watch and realized how late it was getting. She had to be at work in twenty minutes. Thankfully the location she had to go to today was pretty close to this cafe. She left the cash on the table to cover the food and then left for work. Another day with the stalker Hal, how fun.

* * *

**My gosh guys, I'm so sorry for the long wait D: **

**I know this chapter isn't very long (or good in my opinion), but not to fret. I'm hoping to get more work done on here now that things have calmed down a bit at school. **

**Thank you guys for the support 3**


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